March’s events consisted of ongoing Anti-Mass Incarceration work, support for farmworkers’ rights, and showing up to protest the death of Stephon Clark. For more information about future events, sign up for our mailing list!
Ongoing: Call Your State Senator to Support Reform of New York’s Bail and Discovery Laws
Want to start helping #FREEnewyork today? Make a quick call to your State Senator to ask them to co-sponsor two recently introduced bills (or thank them if they are already co-sponsors): S3579-A, a bail reform bill introduced by Senator Gianaris, and S7722, a discovery law reform bill introduced by Senators Bailey and Benjamin.
March 11-15: Freedom Fast for Farmworkers’ Rights
On March 11-15, organizers from the Coalition of Immokalee Workers fasted outside the the hedge fund offices of Wendy's board chair. Wendy’s has resisted workers’ demands that it join many other large food buyers and sign onto the Fair Food Program, a system that ensures farmworkers in Florida are harvesting food under livable conditions and have a voice on the job.
Wednesday, March 14: Day of Action in Albany
To fight mass incarceration across New York State, on March 14th, JLUSA brought the #FREEnewyork Town Hall Tour to Albany with a Day of Action. Activities included a lobby day, a legislative campaign launch, and a blow-out Albany Town Hall.
Wednesday, March 21: Rikers: Innocence Lost Film Screening
The Incarceration and Public Health Action Network at Columbia showcased the short film Rikers: Innocence Lost. After the screening, there were panels featuring the filmmaker and project leaders, people from the film and leaders from organizations working to Close Rikers.
Wednesday March 28: Decarcerate Brooklyn Event
At this event, participants heard from directly-impacted people on how the movement to close Rikers Island prison could affect communities in Brooklyn. Darren Mack, a leader within Just Leadership USA (a SURJ NYC accountability partner) spoke at this powerful forum along with Tina Luongo (Legal Aid) who appeared on a panel of advocates responding to Brooklyn elected officials.
Wednesday, March 28: Justice For #StephonClark
Stephon Clark was a 22 year old black father of two gunned down by police in Sacramento, CA. He was murdered by Sacramento Police officers on March 18, 2018, in his own backyard. They shot him over 20 times claiming they thought he had a gun, but only his cellphone was found at the scene. Read more about why the incident cannot be tolerated. SURJ members participated in a Manhattan rally to protest Clark’s murder.